Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-06-05
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time.
i lay motionless, hardly daring to
breathe, dreading every moment that
he would discover me.
Oh God, the agony OF thosemoments
Nearer and nearer he came, till l could
see the outline OF his huge figure loom
ing through the fog. Suddenly. like
some Wild animal, be crouched down,
and then with n horrible sort Of scream
spinng upoD me.
The end was near.
With the touch Of his fingers once
more upon my throat | ceased to
struggle and bad closed my eyes in
resignation, when the sound of foot
steps infused me with new hope. The
mailman also heard the sound, and, re-
laxing his grasp, listened. A vehicle
stopped, and then woman suddenly
burst through the fog, whose features
seemed familiar. But the agony had
been too much for me and l swooned.
cannot tell how long remained I'M
conscious after my terrible encounter
with that man. The first thing that L
recollect is opening my eyes in
darkened room, with a sensation of
acute pain in my head, which was
swathed in bandages. At first | could
recall nothing. Then by degrees the
whole horrid event returned to me.
The sudden fog-our meeting-the
fight and the appearance of the woman.
| shuddered at the recollection, aud
closing my eyes again fell into a deep
sleep. When / awoke the room was
still dark. / raised myself on the bed
and looked around. The first object
my eyes rested upon was Miss Rossiter.
She was seated by the bedside looking
anxiously at me. She must have noticed
my look of joyful recognition, for she
leaned forward with her finger on her
lips. In spite of that warning sign |
could not resist the temptation of speak
ing.
ELLA tell me where am ~"
"In our house." she answered.
"You have been very i'll, dearest. But
the worst is over" She placed her hand
in mine, and for several moments
neither spoke. At length | said:
ella, will you answer me one ques-
tion?" She nodded, and bent down to
listen.
"Ihen tell me-" / said, striving to
suppress my emotion, "who was that
man who kissed and fondled you in the
garden ? Darling, forgive me. could
not help seeing you. Who was he?"
A look of establishment passed over
her face bat before she had time to
reply the recollection of all the wrong
he bad done me surged through my
brain. and I cried angrily CELIA, do
Won know what ! have suffered at his
hands? Do you know that from the
moment he crossed my path my whole
life has been darkened? Do you know
that he has blighted my prospects,
shattered my health, and thrown me at
deaths door? What have | done that
he should haunt me like an evil spirit ?
Look here" / cried, tearing the band
age from my hedd, "look ct his last
work. And yet, Ella, you allow this
man to embrace you and you kiss him
in return"
"Oh stop, stop, stop she cried.
"What have YOU said? BE is-my-
flthcr!"
"Ycur father !" echoed hardly
above a whisper.
Eyes" she moaned "don't-dont
hate ne"
/ laue he'd at the bare possibility of
such n Thing, and tried to raise her
head, Int the excitement had overtax-
ed my strength, and L fell back ex-
Laustcd. Directly she became aware
Of my condition Ella Immediately re-
covered herself and whispered:
81 have been very thoughtless. The
doctor said you were to be kept per-
fectly quiet. Try and sleep now, dear,
and III come back again in the morn
ing, when we can talk it all over.
Goodnight"
Absolute silence reigned in the house
as soon as the door had closed behind
Miss Rossiter.
lay quite still, listening to the tick
ing OF tie old clock on the stairs and
thinking over the extraordinary news |
had Just heard. | felt intensely wake
ful-sleeping was out of the question.
The time slipped by and not a sound
broke the stiffness of the house.
/ cannot tell what interval had
elapsed since Miss Rossiter's departure,
when the silence was suddenly broken
by groan. / raised myself on my
elbow and listened. All was silent.
Had / been mistaken? Persuading
myself that such was the case, | closed
my eyes again and tried to sleep.
BARELY five minutes could have elapsed
when the stiffness of the night was
again broken by groan.
Jumped out of bed as rapidly as my
weakness would permit, and stood
listening, supporting myself by the bed
post. As l did so | fancied | could
hear the sound of heavy breathing.
became seized with a desire to in
yestigate the matter. Huddling on
a few clothes l cautiously left the bed
room and crept noiselessly down the
passage. At the extreme end was a
door. from underneath which light
shone. [ walked slowly toward it, but
found | had miscalculated my strength,
for a sudden dizziness seized me, and
/ Was obliged to lean against the wall
for several seconds.
When sufficiently recovered | re-
sumed my journey, and after some
hesitation pushed the door gently open
and looked in.
Ny entrance was unObserved, and |
stood motionless, taking in every de-
tail Of the strange scene. On bed in
the corner of the room lay figure
the figure of that lion-faced man.
Mis-. Rossiter was kneeling by his
side, with her arms clasped around his
neck.
Ella was close to her mother, and on
the other side OF the bed man, whom
Judged to be the doctor, was mixing
some medicine. / uttered an exclama
ton of surprise and they all turned
found.
Mrs. Rossiter cried ont in alright,
and Ella rushed forward and endeav-
ored to drag me from the room. No
sooner did the man become aware OF
ny presence than look of intense
hatred flashed from his eyes, and with
an inarticulate murmur he struggled to
rise from the bed. But his wife
frightened her grasp around his
neck, and with soothing words strove
90 calm bor bushand'a anger